Can we now give Manning his due?

A year later than many expected it would happen, Peyton Manning finally peeled the monkey off his back. In front of a raucous crowd at the RCA Dome on Sunday, Indianapolis' star quarterback exorcised the demons that had been haunting him by leading the Colts to a thrilling 38-34 comeback victory over the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game.

It was sweet vindication for Manning, who will now make his long-awaited appearance in the Super Bowl after being perceived as a choke artist for much of his playing career.

Flash back 12 months and Manning was receiving heat from the media for criticizing his teammates after a 21-18 loss to Pittsburgh in the divisional round of the playoffs. Frustrated after the Steelers harassed him for much of the afternoon, Manning said there were protection problems. And there very well might have been.

But the attack dogs were out. Manning was targeted as the fall guy for Indianapolis' latest disappointment. There was no way he was going to avoid being blamed for this collapse — not after the Colts began the year 13-0 and seemed destined for the Super Bowl. So the media blitzed him. Manning was accused of finger-pointing and throwing his teammates under the bus. He was called a whiner. He was labeled a poor leader.

Now the same people who lambasted him not too long ago will likely be lauding him. They should. Manning is the Colts. There is no franchise that is more heavily dependent on a player than Indianapolis. He calls the plays at the line, makes split-second decisions and runs the most explosive offense in the NFL.

This season, Manning didn't have running back Edgerrin James alongside him for the first time in six years after James signed as a free agent with the Arizona Cardinals.No big deal. Insert Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai into the lineup and the Colts don't skip a beat.

In fact, they do better. Surprising, you may say. Not really. For Manning, it was only a matter of time before he got a chance to play on the biggest of stages. He's just that good. To offer a little perspective, Michael Jordan didn't lead the Chicago Bulls to the NBA Finals until his seventh season in the league.

Manning is in his ninth year as a professional. The fact that he didn't make it to the Super Bowl until now shouldn't be an indictment on his career. These things take time, after all.

For some reason, though, Manning has been held to a different standard than other athletes. While sympathy always seemed to be extended to former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino for his team's playoff disappointments, Manning has been skewered when the Colts have suffered setbacks in the postseason. That's interesting, because Marino played in the AFC when it was proven to be inferior to the more competitive NFC. Manning, meanwhile, is playing in an era when the AFC has been the dominant conference.

But the media won't hesitate to criticize Manning when he fails. Now that he has succeeded hopefully they will shower him with praise. It's well-deserved, after all.

Photo Source: manningpassingacademy.com.